Manziel among Heisman contenders

1. Texas A&M (5-1, next week vs. LSU) — ”Johnny Football” put on a show for those who were willing to stay up late to watch his big effort against Louisiana Tech. But next week against LSU will be a humongous step up in class for him and the Aggies. Kita K Wright/Associated Press

SHREVEPORT, La. — Texas A&M freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel has made a living turning nothings into somethings — and oft-spectacular somethings — evidenced by the one-time Kerrville Tivy star's 72-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter against Louisiana Tech.

“The play was designed to go one way, and he turned it into something else,” Aggies centerPatrick Lewis said of Manziel's improvising ability.

Manziel's most eye-popping play during the Aggies' 59-57 thriller over the Bulldogs, however, didn't make the final statistics, but it's one his teammates and fans will remember for his hustle. Midway through the third quarter, Aggies running back Christine Michael tried stretching the ball across the goal line. But it squirted loose, and the Bulldogs' Chip Hester came up with it and sprinted the other way.

Manziel, in hot pursuit, fought off a block by Bulldogs safety Quinn Giles, then knocked the ball loose from behind near the 50-yard line. Louisiana Tech's Mike Schrang came up with the rolling rawhide on the run, and Manziel wound up tackling him near the Aggies' 30-yard line.

Back at the goal line, officials had ruled Michael down at the 1, but Manziel's hustle on the no-play had fans abuzz on Internet message boards. So did his 576 total yards as Manziel, in only his sixth college game, broke his own Southeastern Conference record of 557 yards set two weeks earlier in a 58-10 win over Arkansas.

Manziel rushed for 181 yards, second-most ever by an A&M quarterback, along with throwing for another 395 in Saturday's wild victory. Midway through the season, he's also worked his way into Heisman Trophy chatter. A&M has one lone Heisman winner — running back John David Crow in 1957 — and hasn't owned a candidate in the mix this far into the season since quarterback Bucky Richardson in 1991.

“He's only played in six games,” reminded A&M first-year coach Kevin Sumlin. “He'll be the first to tell you that he's working to get better every week.”

Sumlin has kept Manziel off-limits to the media so far this season. Now, the 5-1 Aggies turn their attention to 6-1 LSU in a top 20 showdown, as the former non-conference foes meet for the first time as SEC rivals at 11 a.m. Saturday at Kyle Field. The Aggies moved up two spots to No. 20 in the Associated Press poll after the win over then-No. 23 Louisiana Tech, and LSU is sixth.

The Aggies also committed a season-high 19 penalties and nearly blew a 27-0 lead.

“We just played bad defensive ball, and now we've got LSU coming to town,” linebacker Jonathan Stewart said. “We can't perform like that, or we're not going to be victorious.”